SUE Mosgortrans has started testing GAZelle e-City electric minibuses, produced by Russia’s GAZ. (The e-City is based on GAZ’s diesel-powered City minibus.) The electric bus accommodates 16 passengers, 13 of them with seats. The tests of the electric minibus will last until the end of February 2024. Such minibuses are suited for narrow roads and small passenger traffic.

The electric minibuses are equipped with terminals for contactless fare payment and USB ports for recharging personal devices. The NMC battery pack supports a range of 150 kilometers, according to the company.

The minibuses have a low floor system and storage platform to transport passengers with disabilities and wheelchairs or strollers.

This model is suitable for routes with a low passenger traffic and can pass through narrow streets where a large electric bus will not pass. Today Moscow is now considered to be the largest e-bus fleet in Europe and we are starting to test a new one of electric vehicles. We will consider the possibility of replacing small-class buses with the electric ones in case the test is successful.

—Maksim Liksutov, the Deputy Mayor of Moscow for Transport

Electric buses were launched in Moscow in 2018. Today more than 1,000 electric buses run on 79 bus-routes, carrying about 400,000 passengers on a daily basis. In 4 years, electric buses have run 100 million kilometers, transported more than 226 million passengers, 72 million of which have been carried in 2022.